Sustainability // making conscious choices as a potter

Never before has it been more important for the studio potter to consider the impact they are having on the environment.

Pottery is one of the oldest known crafts; its beauty and skill are truly amazing. You can walk into countless museums and discover so much about clay—how it is formed, fired and decorated, and how it has been used across cultures and eras. Along the way, you will definitely find many gorgeous examples of thoughtful, sustainable work.

CoCA,York Art Gallery.

Sometimes, when looking back at the methods and tools used by others, we find fresh inspiration to embrace a slower, more sustainable approach to contemporary ceramic practice. Today, many studio potters are creating beautiful work that combines both traditional and modern techniques, honed and refined by the skilled artisans who came before us. Yet alongside this revival of craft, the industrial supply chain has also evolved, and the sourcing of materials commonly used in ceramics cannot always be relied upon to be ethical, sustainable, or even traceable — a concern that weighs heavily on conscientious makers.

Accountability, understanding and traceability are desperately needed to ensure we do not support corrupt regulations in the mining sector, to protect vulnerable communities’ human rights, and to prevent further harmful damage to our precious environment.

Everyone understands that now is the time to act to prevent the worst effects of climate change, and each of us must make practical changes in our everyday lives to protect the planet we all share. The familiar saying “reduce, reuse and recycle” remains a useful reminder of simple steps we can take. We know single-use plastic is harmful, and many of us have adopted small habits like taking reusable canvas bags to the supermarket. Across Britain, there are lovely little refill shops appearing in more and more towns, showing how everyday choices and modest routines can add up to meaningful, positive change.

When it comes to studio pottery, a sustainable practice can be willingly adopted for ethical, environmental and functional reasons, yet these important values can also be easily overlooked or dismissed by some makers, and naturally, the apparent beauty of something handmade can at times be misleading to the consumer.

For example, as a potter, if I don’t make my own glaze, I can’t be certain what’s in it, and when I buy my clays, if I don’t ask the supplier, I have no clear idea where they’ve come from or how they were produced.

Basically, as a consumer, you could be sipping your oat milk and fair‑trade coffee from a beautiful, handcrafted mug, quietly chanting “be the change,” while unaware that the same mug may contain bone ash (the ground bones of cattle), an additive sometimes used in glazes to give a shiny, attractive finish. Or take a blue mug — many shades of blue are produced with cobalt, a mineral that Amnesty International has reported is mined by thousands of children using rudimentary tools, exposing them to serious risks of injury and even death.

So you see, some transparency is needed, and I believe that as a studio potter, myself and others should be held accountable for what we produce and how, because the planet and its people need us too. It mainly comes down to understanding the materials, the tools and the working methods I use.

Like everything in today’s world, I could simply buy clay, glazes and raw ingredients with a double-tap on a screen and churn out darling pots without any real knowledge about what I’m using, but I choose to learn where things come from, how they’re made and the impact they have.

In my opinion, gaining knowledge and then making conscious choices is the most environmentally friendly thing any potter can do!

Of course, that takes more time and requires a slower, more considered approach, which isn’t favoured by everyone—I get it! I also understand that many people don’t pay much attention to where their things come from and are perfectly content with the convenience and instant gratification of modern consumer culture.

#blindnyc (blind consumerism in NYC) created by Ivan Farias

Clearly a slow, sustainable approach is something I am deeply passionate about, and it’s too broad a subject to fully cover in a single journal post. This is my first entry on the matter, and there will be more to come. I’m not claiming to be perfect—no one is—but what I will say is this: I’m learning, doing my best, and being open and transparent about the process.